UCP ALBERTA

Indigenous Environmentalists Slam AER and Federal Inaction Over The Kearl Mine Leakage

Story by The Canadian Press •6h

 (ANNews) – Indigenous climate advocates are harshly criticizing an Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) report into Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine leaking 5.4 million tonnes of contaminated water, which concluded that the oil company followed all required regulations, even after it failed to notify members of the downstream First Nations. 

While it was initially reported that the AER concealed the leakage from Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree Nation for almost a year until contaminated water surfaced in February 2023, the regulator knew about the leakage for years prior, according to reporting from The Canadian Press. 

Groundwater reports Imperial submitted to the AER in 2020 and 2021 acknowledge that tailings were seeping from the ponds intended to contain them. 

In May 2022, the First Nations were first informed that discoloured water had surfaced from the pond, but Indigenous leaders were then kept out of the loop until February, when the AER issued an environmental protection order against Imperial after 5.4 million tonnes of toxic water escaped from the pond. 

Mandy Olsgard, an environmental toxicologist who worked with nearby First Nations, said the regulator would have known about the seepage since 2019. “They knew there was seepage to groundwater,” said Olsgard, adding that the AER and Imperial decided to “just manage it internally,” rather than notify the public. 

The seepage continues, with hydrocarbon levels in test wells exceeding provincial guidelines, CP reported.

“There is no indication of adverse impacts to wildlife or fish populations in nearby river systems or risks to drinking water for local communities,” Imperial spokesperson Lisa Schmidt told CP.

An AER report said Imperial followed all existing rules in reporting the leak, but acknowledged the rules have major shortcomings. 

Mikisew Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro, who has called for a stop-work order at the Kearl site, said he has no reason to trust Imperial or the AER.

“They say they have contained the seepage. They have not. The fact that they did not tell us about the seepage for nine months is the tip of the iceberg,” he told CP.

A statement from Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, which has called on the federal government to intervene, expressed similar doubts about the AER’s integrity. 

“We do not believe that the Kearl leak was an isolated incident, and we do not believe the regulator would inform the public if another incident occurred,” the band told CP.

Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) issued a blistering Sept. 27 news release decrying a lack of accountability from the AER. 

“They don’t live there, they don’t drink the water. Oil and gas groups have spent millions, if not billions, aiming to weaken policies so they can continue to get away with destroying our planet," said ICA executive director and Athabasca Chipewyan member Eriel Tchekwie Deranger.Their only interests are their bottom lines—our community and our rights mean nothing to them."

Deranger added that the AER’s conclusions “are unfortunately not surprising.” 

“It only affirms that spills, leaks and overflows are considered acceptable and normal within the Canadian colonial system,” Deranger said. “Standard ‘business as usual’ holds no consequences for industry. It’s the land, waterways and the people that are expected to shoulder the consequences for them.” 

The release noted that the AER report came days before the annual Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada.

“We can’t truly work toward reconciliation until the whole truth is told about the oppressive colonial systems and practices that caused, and continue to cause, harm to our lands, waterways and rights of our peoples,” said ICA engagement manager Jamie Bourque-Blyan, a member of Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement. 

She called the Kearl spill, and ensuing coverup, just “one example of these harms,” with Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree nations “left in the dark about the tailings breach and increase in toxic chemicals in the waterways and environment often used to practice inherent Indigenous and treaty rights, including those of harvesting foods and medicine, and practicing land-based ceremonies.” 

The report also came a week after the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to “build a cleaner and more prosperous future for all.”

Despite his rhetoric, Trudeau continues “to miss the mark when it comes to upholding human rights, including Indigenous rights,” said ICA digital media coordinator Katie Wilson, a member of Peguis First Nation. 

“Not once did Trudeau mention Indigenous rights in his address last week and this report from the AER further demonstrates the sincere lack of interest by colonial governments in upholding Truth and Reconciliation, as long as it impacts industry wealth,” Wilson added.

Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News

Opinion: Coal mining company won't take no for an answer

Opinion by Lorne Fitch•

A third-party report into the release of millions of litres of oilsands wastewater at Imperial Oil's Kearl mine has found Alberta's energy regulator followed all it rules and procedures in keeping the public and area First Nations informed.

Money talks. It says, “Bend over.” The persistence of Benga, now renamed Northback, an Australian mining company owned by mogul Gina Rinehart is testament to never accepting no for an answer. Money has paved the way for an intensive lobbying effort with Alberta politicians and bureaucrats, only exceeded by the effort displayed by the petroleum industry.

The now infamous Grassy Mountain coal mine proposal has already been turned down by a joint federal/provincial panel, on environmental, economic, social and health grounds. The proponent, believing they had the fast track to a mine based on promises from the UCP government, was furious and appealed the decision. The courts refused to hear the appeal, no doubt believing this had already been dealt with in the panel proceedings.

Channelling Mark Twain for a moment, in terms of his view of mines, Grassy Mountain has become a metaphorical hole in ground, into which power, influence and money are poured. From that hole in the ground the owners hope for an answer that does not include “no.”

Northback must believe firmly in the proposition that heads they win, tails they get to flip again. It must be so, because they are back, flipping under a new name (as if that makes any difference) and applying for a new exploration permit, for the same thing they were turned down on in 2021.

If nothing else, they deserve credit for brass and chutzpah.

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is currently accepting statements of concern about this resurrected mine proposal from Albertans. This is the same agency that failed to advise downstream residents of a serious leak in a tarsands tailings pond for months, until confronted by the issue. In the case of this coal exploration proposal, they are subjecting Albertans to a flawed form that the agency laughingly calls “user-friendly.” Virtually at the beginning of the form, you are told you have to be directly and adversely affected by the activity to register a concern.

Woe betide you if you are a downstream water drinker, breathe air coming from the proposed mine site, are an angler, a hunter, a camper, a naturalist, a rancher or any Albertan who has already emphatically said no to coal development in the Eastern Slopes. You will not penetrate the economic cordon imposed by the AER.

Mind you, you shouldn’t have to since we’ve been through this; a decision has been made and nothing, absolutely nothing has changed, except maybe the drought has heightened our concern over water. This might matter, except in Alberta where you have to endlessly parse the fine print for wiggle room, exceptions and deviations.

The 2022 ministerial order restricts coal projects but does allow for exceptions for “active coal mines, for advanced coal projects and for safety and security activities.” However, the definition of “advanced” means a project is already moving through a regulatory process. The current application for coal exploration on Grassy Mountain does not meet this test.

One needs to sift through this with a large degree of incredulity. This project is not in a regulatory process and none of the conditions of the 2022 ministerial order have yet been met. Why it is even being considered by the AER is a mystery. I would agree it is an “advanced” project, one that has advanced through a prior legitimate process of review and scrutiny. It has advanced to the point of rejection.

The fumbling by the AER and the government of Alberta on this file defies belief and suggests several things. Is there an attempt to subvert both the ministerial order and AER process? It raises serious questions on whether lobbying efforts have been successful at circumventing government policy related to coal exploration and development. One hopes that when money talks, policy and the broader public interest don’t walk.

It also calls into question how many times “no” has to be applied before it sticks.

Lorne Fitch is a professional biologist, a retired fish and wildlife biologist and a former adjunct professor with the University of Calgary.